Training English language teachers regarding subject areas (i.e., language as a medium of teaching mainstream classroom subjects) and pedagogical skills has been essential for the field of English language teaching (ELT) for many years. However, the most challenging part of achieving this has been preparing teacher candidates with the most up-to-date knowledge, skills, and strategies to teach English while maintaining their self-confidence and professionalism in their career. In addition, ELT has faced some changes in its history such as moving from traditional methods to self-regulated learning in the 18th century, followed by reforms in the 20th century. As a result, many methods and practices have been sought to adapt the ELT field to new findings from research, the demands of globalization, political situations, and immigration patterns in order to prepare English teachers to teach in diverse environments. Considering this unique characteristic of ELT, reevaluating methods of teaching English based on the changing student population is very crucial. From this perspective, all 14 chapters in Carola Surkamp and Britta Vierbrock’s edited volume aim to raise awareness in training teacher candidates within the demands of globalization. Accordingly, the book highlights the need for training self-confident and competent English as foreign and second language (EFL/ESL) teachers to meet “the demands posed by globalization, multilingualism or digitalization” (Surkamp & Vierbrock, 2018, p. 9). The book also aims to help them reflect on their own professional development. To achieve these aims, the volume combines theoretical knowledge with practical implications to provide insights into a variety of topics, including the history of ELT, skills and processes of L2 learning, teaching, and assessment as well as interculturality and ELT policies in global education.
Chapter 1, English Language Teaching and English Language Education: History and Methods by Sabine Doff, covers the history of ELT and its institutionalization in Europe, especially in Germany. In addition, past and current issues are discussed in a way that English teachers could apply theory-based methods in their classrooms. The importance of balancing the use of appropriate methods, writing language objectives along with content objectives when English is used as a medium of instruction, and taking learner needs into consideration are discussed thoroughly in this chapter.
Chapter 2, Institutionalised Foreign Language Learning: Teaching English at Different Levels by Daniela Elsner, describes the current situation of institutionalized language teaching in Germany, from primary and secondary classrooms to vocational schools and university. It provides curricular guidelines and learning objectives based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR, 2017).The CEFR is a foreign language learners’ achievement standards guideline for schools across Europe and some other countries. The main goal is to specify criteria that apply to teaching, learning and assessing all languages in Europe. Chapter 2 explains, in detail, how language objectives based on CEFR are achieved in the German educational system. It is also reported that CEFR established a transparent, comprehensive and systematic basis for the English language teaching curriculum, designing level appropriate materials, and assessing learners fairly.
The next two chapters mainly focus on the characteristics of English language teachers and learners. Chapter 3, Teachers of English as a Foreign Language: Experience and Professional Development by Britta Viebrock, emphasizes the required characteristics of being an English language teacher and the importance of reflective practice and independent professionalism in good teaching practice. More specifically, it highlights the main challenges of the teaching profession: teaching diverse populations under the demands of globalization, using technology or integrating it as part of English classes as well as teaching in an inclusive environment in which students with different abilities and different backgrounds can participate in classes.
Chapter 4, Language Learners: From Learning to Identity by Andreas Bonnet, on the other hand, approaches language learners and the concept of learner orientation from psycholinguistic and sociocultural perspectives. English learners’ motivation, age, affective issues, attitudes, and learning styles are examined from the psycholinguistic aspect, while issues such as English learners’ investment, identity, capital, language ideologies are described in detail from the sociocultural aspect. At the end, the chapter offers some practical implications related to these two perspectives to help teachers in their classroom practices. For instance, from a psycholinguistic point of view, teachers should take learners’ aptitude, motivation as well as their individual needs and performance into consideration while from the sociocultural perspective, teachers should pay attention to learners’ backgrounds and biographies welcoming minority languages and identities.
Chapter 5, English Language Learning: An SLA-based Approach by Jörg-U. Keßler, delves into Second Language Acquisition (SLA) framework to highlight the idea that language teachers need to be familiar with the process of language learning. This chapter also underscores the concept of interlanguage. Interlanguage is when the language learners’ system involves both second language input and first language features (VanPatten, & Williams, 2015). Taking both language features into account, this chapter provides valuable information on the psycholinguistic background of language learners. It suggests that teachers should adapt their English classes, syllabi, and materials based on English learners’ states of interlanguage. Then, the chapter ends with an example of a classroom task.
Chapters 6, Receptive Competences: Reading, Listening, Viewing by Carola Surkamp and Tanyasha Yearwood, Chapter 7 Productive Competences: Speaking, Writing, Mediating by Petra Kirchho, and Chapter 8 Focus on Form: The Lexico-Grammar Approach by Matthias Hutz focus on receptive and productive language skills, as well as grammar and vocabulary. Chapter 6 provides information on how receptive skills (i.e., reading, listening and viewing) can be learned and taught. It addresses the challenges that these skills pose and examines the approaches to teaching receptive skills along with their implications. Offering sample tasks and suggesting possible activities for pre-, while- and post- phases, the chapter also discusses some assessment procedures of these skills. A similar outline is used for the next chapter that addresses productive skills (speaking and writing). After language skills are examined, the focus of Chapter 8 shifts to discussing teaching vocabulary and grammar mainly through the Lexico-Grammatical Approach (Swan, 2005). It is an approach in systemic functional linguistics to emphasize the interdependence of lexis and syntax. According to this approach, “vocabulary and grammar should not be learned and taught separately, but in combination” (Surkamp & Viebrock, 2018, p. 135). This chapter offers sample communicative tasks for classroom use, which may be useful and practical for both teachers and learners. These include doable tasks in real life classrooms; therefore, this chapter is a very practical one.
Furthermore, learning and teaching a foreign language cannot be isolated from the culture of that language (Kramsch, 1993). In this light, Chapter 9, Teaching Culture: Intercultural Competence, Transcultural Learning, Global Education by Britta Freitag-Hild, dwells upon cultural issues, including intercultural and transcultural learning, global education and multilingualism. The chapter focuses on different meanings of culture, how to make use of literature to teach culture, and how to represent culture in the classroom. The author views culture as a multi-dimensional construct through which people either individually or collectively exercise their mental and social representation in a given context.
Then, cultural tasks are exemplified with certain lesson stages such as warm-up, self-reflection, interpretation and change of perspectives, analysis and reflection, negotiation and participation, contextualization and overall reflection. The function of each stage is explained and sample task formats are provided.
In parallel with the previous one, Chapter 10, Literature and Film: Approaching Fictional Texts and Media by Christiane Lütge, introduces and discusses basic literature concepts while pinpointing certain techniques and approaches to teaching literature and film. Chapter 10 presents the dimensions of teaching literature and film in language classes. For instance, motivational affective dimension allows students’ emotional reactions for the discussions in class, and this dimension also gives them the opportunity to have protective spaces for their imagination. The cultural dimension of teaching literature and film permits students to have specific insights into stories about individuals from other cultures different from theirs. This chapter provides more cultural aspects as an addition to the previous chapter. To exemplify, there are three stages of cultural learning. First, language learners work on culture-sensitive perception, and then they evaluate cultural images, global views, and stereotypical views. Finally, learners develop cultural and global awareness through the previous stages.
Chapter 11, Principles and Methods: Focus on Learners, Content and Tasks by Annika Kolb and Thomas Raith starts by depicting the impact of the communicative approach on the current ELT methodology. Then, it discusses current principles guided by communicative teaching in three categories: focus on the learner, focus on content, and focus on tasks (Task Based Language Teaching; TBLT). For instance, major ideas that emphasize focus on the learner principle include differentiated and individualized learning for each learner, learner autonomy, holistic learning (i.e., taking learners’ selves into account in designing tasks), multilingualism (e.g., students from different cultures), and competence orientation (i.e., shift from teacher input in the curriculum to a flipped learning design). Furthermore, focus on content principle underscores the importance of teaching content along with teaching English and how scaffolding of learners’ knowledge should be achieved in classes where content and English are taught at the same time, especially in ESL contexts. Lastly, regarding TBLT, the definition of “tasks” is explained. A task is an activity that students engage in to attain an objective through the use of language and it provides communicative and meaningful situations while focusing on meaning rather than on form (Van den Branden, 2006). Then, the features of tasks are identified as follow: involvement, task complexity, focus on form, interaction, task demand and task support (Surkamp & Vierbrock, 2018). At the end, the chapter provides an example of a creative task, which is modifiable for different student populations (e.g., focus on the learner) and different contents (e.g., focus on content).
Chapters 12 and 13 are about multimedia learning environments, technology and different settings in language education. Starting with some basic concept definitions related to media and digital literacy, Chapter 12, Media-Assisted Foreign Language Learning: Concepts and Functions by Torben Schmidt and Thomas Strasser, continues with explanations on how to integrate technology in language classrooms. It is suggested that teachers gradually increase the degree of technology in creating tasks, and Puentedura’s (2010) Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) model is recommended to teachers as a way of technology integration. This model includes using projectors, sharing grammar handouts online as links, using management systems for online discussions (e.g., Moodle), and allowing students to create digital stories instead of written paper texts. In addition, certain contemporary topics, including mobile-assisted learning and digital game-based learning, are discussed through real-life classroom examples pictured in the chapter. More importantly, links are provided for the mobile-assisted and game-based activities, which is very helpful for teachers and students. Chapter 13, Settings: Teaching in and beyond the English Language Classroom by Eva Wilden, highlights the changing trends from traditional classroom setting through out-of-school setting within four dimensions: “(1) the English language classroom as a physical space, (2) English language learning beyond the classroom, (3) the English language classroom as a social meeting place and (4) the role of the Internet in English language education” (Surkamp & Vierbrock, 2018, p. 234). In the first dimension, in English classes as a physical space, learners are exposed to action-oriented exercises such as games, songs, and role-plays. Regarding the classroom, multilingual environments, going to movies, inviting international guests, and doing site visits or projects are recommended for students to learn English independently out of the school. In the second dimension, the classroom is also seen as a social meeting place as students interact with each other and their environment communicatively or through the negotiation of meaning. Regardless of school subjects, they interact with each other about daily life and their conversations count as another dimension in learning English through interaction. As regards the third dimension, the role of the Internet in English language education provides Web 2.0 opportunities to students in which they can listen to podcasts, create digital stories, or have Skype meetings to interact with others. The last dimension emphasizes the transformative effect of the Internet on English learning settings, which was explained in greater detail in the previous chapter.
Finally, assessment and learning cannot be separated from each other, Chapter 14, Assessment: What, Why and How? by Karin Vogt, touches upon the essential features of assessment to help teachers develop language assessment literacy. Language assessment literacy is “the ability to critically evaluate language tests, compile, design and monitor language assessment procedures in foreign language contexts, grade and score them on the basis of theoretical knowledge” (Surkamp & Vierbrock, 2018, p. 249). This approach promotes assessment for learning, not learning for assessment. Besides addressing the basic terminology, quality issues, types and purposes of assessments, writing test specifications and items, and alternative assessment, this chapter explicates reliability and validity types (e.g., inter-rater reliability, test administration reliability, face validity, etc.) and the threats to validity. Furthermore, the types of assessments such as diagnostic, placement, achievement, and proficiency tests as well as formative and summative assessments, and the concept of alternative assessment are described. Lastly, Vogt explains the importance of test specifications and how these need to match with lesson objectives so that assessment and teaching/learning can go hand in hand. An example of a lesson and its appropriate assessment is provided to exemplify what has been discussed in the chapter.
Offering a useful introductory guide for English language teachers both in and outside Germany, the book nicely balances the theoretical basis with practical implications. Moreover, the efficient use of visuals such as tables and charts make the content engaging and easier to follow. Example classroom activities are also useful for putting theory into practice. There are suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter to which the readers of this book may refer to. Definitions of important terminology are provided separately and key points are emphasized, which makes the book more organized and comprehensible. However, as a suggestion, Chapter 11 may be placed between Chapter 5 and 6 for a new edition, as they seem to be more related to each other in terms of content. Thus, the order of the chapters may provide a smoother transition among the related topics. One more suggestion for the future editions would be adding some revision questions or discussion parts at the end of each chapter to enhance understanding and to broaden the audience spectrum. This would be helpful for teacher candidates to reflect on their practices and for professors using this book as a textbook in their courses.
References
Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR). (2017). Retrieved on April 24, 2019 from Council of Europe https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/home
Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Puentedura, R. R. (2010). SAMR and TPCK. Intro to advanced practice. http://hippasus.com/resources/sweden2010/SAMR_TPCK_IntroToAdvancedPractice.pdf
Surkamp, C., & Viebrock, B. (Eds.). (2018). Teaching English as a foreign language: An introduction. Stuttgart, Germany: J.B. Metzler.
Swan, M. (2005). Grammar. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Van den Branden, K. (Ed.) (2006). Task-based language education. From theory to practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
VanPatten, B., & Williams, J. (Eds.) (2015). Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
